What's Done in Secret...

Day 212: Matthew 6

Over the past several years, I have become more and more interested in spiritual disciplines and how they form people to be more Christlike. We are all familiar--at least in name--with the disciplines of fasting, praying, and Bible study. But there are others that are less familiar. One spiritual discipline that fascinates me is that of secrecy. Secrecy as a spiritual discipline isn't about keeping someone's secret. Rather, it has to do with doing good deeds in secret--without telling anyone about them. So often, we are motivated to do good by our own selfish desires. We give to the needy--publicly--so that people will see it and know what we've done. We make announcements or we are honored by organizations for our giving. We give--and we are recognized for it.

But this spiritual discipline of secrecy isn't about being recognized; it's about doing things for others without anyone knowing about it--even the person for whom you've done it. This spiritual discipline can be considered one because it takes discipline not to share with others good things you have done. If you mow your neighbor's lawn because it needs to be done, you want your spouse to know. Or if you provide food for families in need, you may do so out of desires that are not so pure. Sure, we try to have good intentions--we are helping people. But when we practice the discipline of secrecy, we can see how so many of our intentions--especially good ones--are actually based on selfish motivations.

In Matthew 6, Jesus addresses this discipline of secrecy when he talks about giving to the poor and when teaching on how we should pray. I challenge all of us to practice doing things for others for their sake rather than ours. This discipline is one way to learn this lesson.

Motivations Leading to Actions: The Story of David and Goliath

Day 56: I Samuel 17-20

The story of David defeating Goliath has always been a favorite one of mine. Here you have this young kid volunteer to take on Goliath. David is obviously outmatched by this strong man, but he still has the boldness (and audacity!!) to attempt to defeat this Philistine giant. And what's crazy is that he does it. He kills Goliath with a stone and a slingshot. No armor. No sword, shield, or helmet. David wins. End of story.

But have you ever thought about David's motivations for volunteering to fight Goliath? Here are some of the reasons I think David was motivated to fight Goliath.

1. To honor God and bring God recognition. David wanted to demonstrate that even though he appeared weak in the eyes of humans, with God's help, he could defeat those who appeared stronger. The Lord is obviously on David's side, and David wants to show "the whole world" that there is a God in Israel, and that He is on their side.

2. David's ego and pride. This one is totally based on my own inference, but it does appear that David's brothers love to hate him, just as Joseph's brothers loved to hate him as well. So, David wants to show up his brothers. They are jealous of him, and as the youngest, David wants to demonstrate his strength, skills, and abilities, even though he is a "mere shepherd." In addition, the entire Israelite community would know that this one man (David) had killed someone that all the other Israelites were afraid of. David would become a household name.

3. Financial and personal motivations. David asked several times what the reward was for the one who defeated Goliath. The answer was threefold: the man would become very wealthy (the king would give him a lot of money); he would get King Saul's daughter in marriage; and his family would be exempt from taxes. It seems obvious that David is motivated by more than godly reasons; however, I do find it interesting that when Saul offers David his firstborn daughter Merab, David declines. And he only marries Michal, another of Saul's daughters, after Saul offers her to him numerous times (with the aim of trying to trick and kill David).

These are just a few of David's motivations for offering to fight Goliath. I'm sure there are more, but the point I want to make is that motivations are complex. We often can't say that there is only one thing motivating us. While we hope that our motivations are pure and godly, there are usually other motivations at work as well. The challenge is to learn to discern which motivations are from God and for God and which ones are more selfish and worldly. When we can begin to understand why we do things (our motivations), not only will we come to know ourselves better, but we will also see more about the purity and holiness of God.